Emotional Labour and the Autonomy of Dependent Self-Employed Workers

The Limitations of Digital Managerial Control in the Home Credit Sector

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2374492
AutoresEsme Terry (0000-0002-9941-7046, University of Leeds, UK; Heriot-Watt University, UK, autor de correspondencia), Abigail Marks (0000-0002-5307-8923, Newcastle University), Arick Dakessian (0000-0001-7792-6862, Queen Margaret University), Arek Dakessian, Dimitris Christopoulos (0000-0001-7367-1129, Heriot-Watt University, UK; Modul University Vienna, Austria)
Año2022
Volumen36
Número4
Páginas665-682
Fecha de publicación2022-08-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaWork Employment and Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0950-0170 • E-ISSN: 1469-8722
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0950017020979504
OpenAlexW3123560004
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas11
Referencias citadas36

Changes to the labour process in the home credit sector have exposed the industry's agency workforce to increased levels of digital managerial control through the introduction of lending applications and algorithmic decision-making techniques. This article highlights the heterogeneous nature of the impact of digitalisation on the labour process and worker autonomy - specifically, in terms of workers' engagement in unquantified emotional labour. By considering the limitations of digital control in relation to qualitative elements of the labour process, it becomes evident that emotional labour has the scope to be a source of autonomy for dependent self-employed workers when set against a backdrop of heightened digital control. This article therefore contributes to ongoing labour process debates surrounding digitalisation, quantified workers and digital managerial control

Agency (philosophy · Autonomy · Business · Control (management · Economic growth · Economics · Emotional labor · Labour economics · Management · Political science · Process (computing · Scope (computer science · Sociology · Workforce · Computer Science · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Emotional Labor in Professions · Employment and Welfare Studies · Law